Cool but comfortable hiking weather

Lake LaGrange, shortly after sunset, is a study in blue. Hikes along the Ice Age Trail are filled with such beautiful scenery. Russ Helwig photo

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Activities:

NOTE: The first tnree events are sponsored by the Friends of the Glacial Heritage Area (GHA). The GHA is mostly in Jefferson County but some also is in Rock and Walworth Counties. Some of us already have skied or hiked at CamRock Park, others are birders, and there may be those who are interested in archaeology, so you may be interested in these events.

Saturday, November 23, prairie seeding at CamRock, Shelter 2, County Highway B, 9 a.m. Thanks to Bill Eggert and other dedicated volunteers, the area at CamRock 2 which we worked on this fall is now cleared for prairie seeding. Stop by this Saturday to spread prairie seed and be a part of restoration work in the GHA.

Saturday, December 7, "Get to Know What's in Your Backyard" hike in the GHA with Friends of GHA and Jefferson-Dodge Bird Walks, Mud Lake Wildlife Area, 9 a.m. We will hike a section of the wildlife area overlooking Chub Lake and the Crawfish River. Meet at the Hubbleton Road parking area (a short distance north off Wisconsin Highway 19). Bring binoculars, scopes, and walking poles, if needed. Note: if it is raining or heavily snowing, the hike will be cancelled. Please check our Facebook page for any cancellation notices. A portion of the hike is uphill, but the view is worth it:

Saturday, December 7, An Afternoon with Aztalan Archaeologists, Fargo Mansion Inn, 406 Mulberry St., Lake Mills,1-3 p.m. The Friends of Aztalan State Park will host a fundraising event for the construction of a visitor and interpretive center at one of the true "pearls" in the GHA, Aztalan State Park. Attendees will be able to hear firsthand the exciting discoveries being made at Aztalan, and chat with prominent Aztalan archaeologists, such as Dr. Lynne Goldstein and Dr. John Richards. Hors d'oeuvres, wine, and other beverages will be served. Space is limited, so please make your reservation as soon as possible by contacting Executive Director Robert Birmingham at (608) 516-3421 or birmi@sbcglobal.net.

Wednesday, January 1, 1 p.m., New Year's Day Hike and Potluck: Meet at Kishwaukeetoe for a hike at 1 p.m. Followed by a potluck to bring in the new year at Eileen's home in Elkhorn. Contact her: (262) 723-3716

Saturday, January 4, 5:30p.m. 6th Annual KNC New Year night hike. Bonfire and cookout at 7 p.m.: Meet at the Kishwauketoe Nature Conservancy entrance on Wisconsin Highway 67. Please contact Harold at haroldf@charter.net so that he knows how much food is needed. BTW, Ed's chilly is outstanding!

NOTICE: New trail state park stickers and trail passes should be available sometime in early December. They will be good for the rest of the year as well as for 2014. Don't get caught without them.

Occasional extra hikes farther from home: Bonnie Nommensen would like to invite those who would like to hike in places we seldom or never hike, possibly once a month to contact her. The hikes may not coincide with our regular hikes. Everyone is welcome to join these hikes, but you need to email Bonnie Nommensen at nommom@hotmail.com, so she has your email and can then notify you when such hikes occur and the details of the hike. When emailing her, you can also include suggestions as to where you would like to hike. Two current suggestions are: 1) Devil's Staircase in Janesville, and 2) continuing the hike around Lake Geneva.”

Weekly Walks: We meet each Tuesday at 4 p.m. and Wednesday at 10:30 a.m.at the U.S. Highway 12 Ice Age National Scenic Trail crossing located about 4 miles east of Whitewater, about a quarter mile east of the intersection of U.S. Highway 12 with Sweno Road. The parking lot is at the west end of Sherwood Forest Rd which is a short road that intersects U.S. Highway 12 at each end. We include two or more walks of different distances on Wednesdays and also do this on Tuesdays when desired. All ages are welcome. Note that a current state park pass is required to park a car at the Hwy 12 meeting place. A daily or yearly pass may be purchased at the meeting place provided correct change is available. Trail passes are available also so if you plan to cross country ski you should pick up one of these also. You may also purchase passes at the forest headquarters between Palmyra and Eagle on Wisconsin Highway 59. A park pass is not required to park at the forest headquarters.

Gun seasons for deer are from November 23 through December 15 and from Dec 34 through Jan 5. During those times the Longer Wednesday walk will still meet at the same U.S. Highway 12 meeting place and time and will carpool to Lapham Peak where deer hunting is not allowed. Those who wish to drive directly to Lapham may meet us at the Lapham Evergreen Grove Lodge at about 11:15am.The short distance walkers are welcome to join us, but if they prefer the county parks (Price and Natureland) have great trails and also do not allow hunting. It is still a good idea to wear blaze orange or other bright colors as these park and some of the Lapham boundaries are with areas where hunting is allowed. It is best to avoid brown.

A couple of us had a short walk around Lake LaGrange last Tuesday while the rest continued on the Ice Age Trail to the second cut-over to the horse trail on which they returned. We had a nice sunset, a very pleasant walk, and those of us on the short hike did not need flashlights or headlamps.

Twenty of us long distance hikers walked on the John Muir bike/hiking trails. We took the purple “Rainy Dew” trail which made for a very scenic five mile hike. Normally hikers are to walk opposite the bike traffic, but this day bikes were not allowed so we walked with the nonexistent traffic for variety.

Ken Lempe, our savvy mushroom expert on this hike, pointed out and named some of those we saw and talked about edible ones he has sampled this year.

We found a couple trees across the trail, one a fairly large one that we barely could step across.

There were a few rest stops, some with trail treats, at major trail intersections where we stopped to rest a few minutes and regroup.

It was a great day for a walk. The temperature was around forty degrees so only a couple layers of clothing and a windbreaker were necessary to be comfortable.

Lunch at the LaGrange General Store culminated the adventure for most of us this day.

Ellen Davis sent the following summary of the short distance walk:

It was another cold and breezy Wednesday, overcast and threatening rain. It was also our last opportunity (for a few weeks) to hike the Ice Age Trail without the possibility of deer hunters nearby. Given these conditions, the choice for the short hike was unanimous: we would take the Ice Age Trail from Highway 12 to Esterly Road and return via the horse trail for a total of 3 ˝ miles.

Fourteen of us, wearing many variations of high-visibility colors ranging from traditional blaze orange to fuchsia, purple, and lime green, safely traversed the highway and started up the first hill. Melting frost and patches of damp leaves – plus the usual rocks and roots – created unexpectedly slippery areas, to the dismay of at least one hiker.

Our group was well spread out as we carefully picked our way along the trail. Jake and the fastest hikers in front, a space, then groups of two and three followed by a large gap and, finally, the rest of us. The view from the rear was a study in patterns and contrasts as the touches of bright color worn by the hikers in the distance moved along the twisting trail and up and over the ridges.

The breeze picked up as we crossed the Pipeline corridor, but we lost it again as we re-entered the trees. The ground here was so evenly carpeted with leaves that an inexperienced hiker might have a little difficulty in distinguishing the trail. We continued through the leaves, into the pines, and along the muddy access road to join the rest of the group at Esterly Road for a brief rest before starting the return trip.

The horse trail is wide and relatively smooth, providing a greater opportunity to appreciate the smaller details of the forest around us. We saw a variety of bracket fungi, tiny semi-transparent flower-like mushrooms, trees showing evidence of pileated woodpeckers at work, the dark red liverish leaves of hepaticas, an ancient apple tree with only five mummified fruits remaining – and red rose hips and orange bittersweet berries and dark green mosses.

Our newest hiker survived his first adventure on the Ice Age Trail, and declared that he was ready for more. We ended the hike warm and comfortable, pleasantly tired – and ready for lunch.